The volume of containers shipped via publicly-owned major ports in India expanded 4.3 percent year-over-year in April and May, the first two fiscal months, according to provisional port statistics collected by JOC.com.

Freight rates fell on all major east-west trades this week with Asia-Europe recording $708 per TEU, its lowest level in almost 18 months, according to the latest reading of the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

The top 20 Chinese ports had a throughput of 15.5 million 20-foot containers in January, with Shanghai and Shenzhen terminals handling almost half of them, according to Shanghai Shipping Exchange data.

An expected spike in China’s factory production in January in the buildup to a late Chinese New Year failed to materialize, with the official purchasing manager’s index (PMI) falling to a level not seen since 2012.

Singapore handled 2.97 million 20-foot containers in October, continuing a healthy month-over-month increase that leaves the world’s second busiest container port on track to beat last year’s throughput.

A group of Thai shippers said it expects exports to grow no more than 1 percent this year, in another worrying sign that Thailand’s economy is struggling in the wake of a military coup in May, Reuters reported.

Japan’s exports to the United States rose for the first time in three months in July on a year-on-year basis despite a sharp decline in auto shipments, according to preliminary trade figures released by Japan’s Finance Ministry.